Why research the Living Library?
Discrimination and exclusion remain persistent challenges in society and the workplace. People can hold conscious or unconscious negative biases against others based on, for example, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, or sexual orientation. These biases have far-reaching consequences for the lives of people from marginalized groups. Many individuals and organizations are actively engaged in promoting diversity and inclusion. Still, in practice, it can be difficult to find interventions that not only raise awareness but also lead to lasting changes in attitudes and behavior.
Afreen Khalid (funded by the AFAS Foundation), together with Gijs Bijlstra and Rob Holland, investigates in her PhD research which interventions are effective in reducing discrimination and promoting diversity and inclusion. A key component of this research program focuses on the Living Library, an established intervention organized in the Netherlands by Living Library Nederland.
About the Living Library
The Living Library is based on Allport’s Contact Hypothesis; the idea that meaningful intergroup contact can reduce prejudice. At the same time, research shows that such contact does not automatically lead to positive outcomes and can sometimes even have adverse effects. Moreover, it is often assumed that long-term or repeated contact is necessary to produce lasting change, even though such contact is not always feasible in practice. The Living Library offers an interesting and accessible form of short, structured contact. Participants engage in conversations with people from groups that are relatively often confronted with stereotyping or social exclusion. The underlying idea is that these personal conversations can foster understanding, reduce anxiety, and promote more positive attitudes toward people who are perceived as “different.”
